


The Miles Between

by DaronwyK



Category: X-Men (Movieverse), X-Men (Original Timeline Movies)
Genre: F/M, Older Man/Younger Woman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-07
Packaged: 2019-04-01 09:12:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13995093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaronwyK/pseuds/DaronwyK
Summary: Set after X1. Following Rogue as she deals with having Magneto and Wolverine running rampant in her mind. The Wolverine knows that she's his, but Logan knows that she needs time and decides to leave, at least for now.





	1. A Gift

**Author's Note:**

> I am tagging this underaged, but so far the relationship is very much in their heads.

Jean was working in the library when the house phone ring. She headed over and picked it up. “Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.” She said, somewhat distracted as she flipped through the book she was reviewing for one of her classes. 

 

“Red, that you?” Logan's rough voice came over the line. 

 

She grinned and set the book down. “Logan, yes it’s me.” He’d been gone a couple months all ready and this was the first they’d heard from him.

 

“How’s the kid doing?” he asked.

 

“Rogue? She’s fine. She seems to be settling into classes well. She misses you, of course, but she’s doing well.” She smiled, it was sweet of him to check on her. “How’s your search going?”

 

“Nothing much so far, I’ll be heading out into the woods to track down the remnants of a facility the Professor had information on,” he said. “Winter’s setting in though, so I might be out of touch for a while.”

 

“Well, I’ll let the Professor know you checked in.” Jean was a little surprised to hear none of the usual flirtation in his voice. “Be careful out there.”

 

“I will. Can you do me a favour though?” he asked.

 

“Sure, what did you need?” She asked, curious now.

 

“Can you find out when her birthday is?” He sounded vaguely embarrassed to be asking.

 

“Sure, just give me a minute to check.” Jean walked to the file cabinets against the wall and unlocked it, pulling out Rogue’s file. “It’s March 30th.”

 

“Thanks Red. I’ll call again when I can, just…keep an eye on her for me,” he asked her.

 

“We all will, I promise.” She said and then shook her head a little as the line went dead. It was a little weird but she knew that the Professor would be happy to hear that Logan was ok.

 

WRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWR

 

It was the end of winter in Westchester, there was still snow on the ground and the air was cold and biting at night. Marie sat in her window seat, knees drawn up to her chest and snuggled in a warm blanket. A lot of the kids had gone home for Easter break, but she was here…alone. Being alone was something she was learning to get used to. The professor had given her a room of her own, saying that there should be one place in the mansion where she didn’t need to hide under multiple layers of clothing for the safety of others. She had appreciated it, more than he likely knew.

 

The other students were getting used to her, but there were still moments where she’d accidentally brush up against someone and they’d recoil…terrified of the girl with the deadly skin. Kitty and Jubilee had made the effort to befriend her, and Bobby Drake seemed determined to get on her good side. She had a few suspicions about why Bobby seemed so interested in her, but she just didn't feel that way about him. It was nice though to have a space that was hers, where she could retreat from everyone. She had enough people in her head that sometimes it was just too much to deal with when you added the other teens on top.

 

The loudest voices in her head were Logan and Magneto, by far. The Professor had offered to help her quiet them but she had declined, claiming a need to explore this herself. He’d let it be after she’d promised to come to him if it proved too overwhelming. In truth, there was a part of her that wanted their voices in her head. She noticed a cycle to the flare-ups of their voices and personalities. Logan’s were tied closely to her hormones. When she was feeling moody, cramped and bloated…god help anyone that pissed her off, because Logan would come thundering to the surface in the blink of an eye. There’d been one episode during PE when Scot had made a smart ass comment when they were sparring and she’d set him on his ass faster than he could say Cyclops. After that, everyone had learned to be conscious of Rogue’s moods and grant her a little leeway during those times. Storm had even smuggled her in a few cigars, after she’d promised not to smoke them. She just sometimes needed the feel of it in her mouth, or to smell the smoke.

 

Erik’s voice was…scarier to her. There would be times in class when she’d feel him pressing forward, a coldness seeping through her and knowledge would come pouring forward that she had never learned. He would appear when she was feeling particularly introspective, or lonely. She got the impression that Erik had often been alone, lost in his own mind. The dreams were the hardest part, even to the point where there was an adult sized set of gloves on her desk at all times, in case someone needed to wake her. Erik’s nightmares were of boxcars of people, men in uniforms shouting in a guttural language, and the horrific stench of unwashed bodies crowed close together in the dark. The images of pits filled with emaciated bodies were disturbing and filled her with a profound sadness. Logan’s were horrific in contrast. The first time she’d had one, she understood with terrifying clarity why he’d nearly killed her that night. Those dreams drew screams from her throat, her mind in such pain that she was certain she was really dying. She could smell her flesh and bones burning under the molten metal, hear the laughter of the scientists as she screamed, tortured endlessly in a tank of green water. She’d wake drenched to the skin in sweat, needing a hot shower, clean sheets, and craving hard liquor that she was not allowed to have. She’d started sneaking beers from the staff fridge, but knew that one day she was going to get caught. If she admitted it, that was part of the appeal of taking it in the first place.

 

Marie was startled from her thoughts by a knock at the door. “Come in," she called and unfolded herself from the window seat.

 

Jean came in and set a box down on her desk. “That came for you in the mail.” She smiled.

 

Marie looked confused but walked over, seeing her name clearly on the shipping label. The address it had come from was somewhere in Alberta, Canada and then she smiled. It had to be from Logan. “Thanks Dr. Grey.”

 

“You’re welcome sweetie. Now your birthday is tomorrow, and I have a very important question for you.” Jean had tried very hard to be a friend to the young woman, and was honestly mystified by the distance that she tried so hard to maintain. “Do you like vanilla, or do you prefer chocolate?”

 

Marie smiled. “Definitely chocolate.” She said.

 

“Chocolate it is. I’ll see you at dinner.” She left the room, giving the girl some privacy to open what had to be a Birthday present.

 

Marie used a pair of scissors from the desk to open the box and smiled softly as it revealed its contents. There was a letter on the top, just her name written on the envelope, and underneath was a leather bomber jacket. She lifted the jacket out and smiled softly. The leather was buttery soft and a dark tan colour. There was a removable liner in it, the liner having fur at the collar. She closed her eyes and rubbed the fur against her face and smiled, smelling him faintly on it. She realized there were matching leather gloves in the bottom, two pairs actually. One pair was clearly meant for cold weather, the other were made of very thin, ultra-soft leather. She slipped the thinner pair on, enjoying the feel of the leather against her skin. They were so thin that it gave her a higher sensitivity to what she was touching. She opened the letter and sat down on the bed, reading it eagerly.

 

_Happy Birthday Marie,_

_Words haven’t ever really been my thing, but I’ll give it a try…just don’t take it personally if I fuck it up. I’m going to be gone for a good while, and the only reason for that is I don’t want my past coming back to bite all of us in the ass. I need to know what happened to me if I’m going to go forward. Never think that I’m not thinking about you, you’re the only reason I plan on ever going back. Sure as shit ain’t for Scooter or Chuck. Jean said you still had a fair bit of me in your head, but that it was fading. I hope that it does, you deserve better than me riding around in your head forever. If it doesn’t…I’m sorry, there’s a lot of shit in there, and the dreams are only part of it. If it doesn’t go away at least use it, use it to keep yourself safe until I get back. I hope you like the jacket, something told me you’d look good in leather._

_See you when I can,_

_Logan_

 

Marie smiled, hearing his voice as she read, as if he was sitting next to her telling her this in person. She took the letter and put it into a little box she’d made for keeping things that were important to her. It had been an art project for Ms. Monroe. She hugged the jacket to her chest for a long moment before hanging it up in her closet. She’d never expected to hear from him until he came home, much less get something as expensive as this. She knew Logan wasn’t rich, he made enough money fighting to cover his living costs…and this would have set him back a fair bit. It made it all the more precious to her.

 

She headed down to dinner, wearing her new gloves. Jubilee was one of the few students still there and she joined her friend.

 

Jubilee whistled. “Nice gloves.” She noticed them instantly.

 

“Yeah…Logan sent me a birthday present.” She grinned. “There’s a leather jacket too.” She told her friend.

 

“Sweet.” Jubilee smiled. “Is he coming back soon?”

 

“Naw, still trying to track down his past.” She shrugged. “He’ll be back when he’s ready.” She wasn’t worried.

 

“Keep the faith girl, keep the faith.” She teased Rogue a little as they tucked into their meal.

 

TBC


	2. A Deeper Connection

 

WRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWR

 

Logan took his pack off and sitting back against a mossy poplar, taking a drink from his canteen. The facility at Alkali Lake had left him with more questions than answers. There was nothing left except abandoned labs and facilities, things straight out of his nightmares. There were no records, and no more clues. He rubbed a hand over his stubble, knowing he needed a shave. He’d been trekking around Northern Alberta for months now. Fall had become winter, and winter had given way to spring. Summer was just around the corner and if he were honest, it had stopped being about finding answers a while ago.

 

So much time alone had given him time to think, and his thoughts kept circling back to a certain troublesome little brunette. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tree. He’d caught himself heading back twice now, without any conscious decision on his part. The Wolverine had made that choice; he was going back for her. The longer he was alone the more in tune he always became with that part of himself. He knew they weren’t really separate people, but it was the name Logan gave to his more…base instincts and needs. It made it easier to deal with the things he’d done, if he ascribed those actions to that other part of himself. The girl was *theirs*, had been from the minute he’d stopped on the road and let her into his truck. She'd been young, vulnerable, and she’d needed him. What he hadn’t expected was to find someone deadly under that soft exterior. The more he learned about Marie, the more he understood that she was not vulnerable, just very good at appearing that way. She’d survived for months on the road before their paths had crossed, and he knew it took a certain toughness to do that, and still be alive at the end of it.

 

Then there was everything that had happened in New York, and at Liberty Island. A growl trickled out of his lips just thinking about it…about her being strapped into that machine and left for dead. He’d have died a hundred times over to spare her that night, but in the end she had survived. When he’d pried her off that damn machine he’d been sure she was dead, and the Wolverine had gone very still…not stopping Logan from pressing his skin to hers. Feeling nothing but the cool softness of her skin against his, the Wolverine had screamed its loss inside him. He’d been able to do nothing other than cradle her against his body and brush his lips against her temple. When she’d finally started to draw from him, he hadn’t fought it intent on giving her whatever she needed to live, happy to make that sacrifice. Even the Wolverine had laid quiet and still, passively giving to her as he never would to another. 

 

Waking to find that Marie was alive and well, had lifted such weight off his shoulders, easing the tightness in Logan's throat. He’d flirted with Jean, of course, but it had felt…hollow. Normally she was just his type, a red-head with killer legs, but the Wolverine had just withdrawn, disinterested in her. Between that and Jean’s comment about Rogue being sweet on him, he’d realized that hanging around might not be the best idea. She was too young, and everyone there was too damned straight-laced for his comfort. So he’d tried to just sneak out, but she’d been carrying just a bit too much of him in her head for that. He wasn’t sure if she’d smelled him, or just felt the weight of his gaze on the back of her neck in the games room, but she’d caught up to him. There was a change in her, it was subtle, but when her eyes met his there was a challenge in them. More disturbing than the challenge, had been the unspoken invitation, the subtle tilt of her head as she asked him to stay. On a basic level he recognized it, and it reinforced that distance and time was necessary. So he’d left her his tags, a very male part of him satisfied that she was wearing them. He’d watched her put them around her neck, tucking them under her shirt to nestle against her breasts. Logan had left then, not trusting himself to stay any longer after that.  

 

He’d send her something else soon, just so Marie didn’t think that he’d forgotten about her. A grin quirked his lips as he thought about her wearing the bomber jacket he’d sent her. The thought of her wearing leather, and rubbing the soft fur of the collar against her neck brought up all kinds of images that Logan didn't dare dwell on. He hadn’t been entirely sure she’d like it, but he had a feeling that just maybe it would be her style. The gloves had been specially made for her, by a friend he knew who did leather work. It had been worth the money.

 

Logan stood and shouldered his pack, knowing he only had another few miles before he made town. He’d left his bike with an old acquaintance he knew from the fight circuit. He let out a sigh of relief as he reached the edge of town, heading for the bar first. He needed a few drinks, it would take the edge off his desire to return to Westchester…at least for tonight. He headed into the dive and nodded to Sean, who just poured him a whiskey.

 

“Thanks Sean.” He said and sat down at the bar.

 

“Anytime. How long you sticking around town?” Sean asked.

 

“Day or two…” Logan shrugged, not really sure yet. “Might head up to the cabin for a bit…do some hunting.” He said.

 

“You should stop in and see Maggie, she was in here looking for you. Said there was a package for you.”

 

Logan looked surprised. “Thanks.” He said, figuring it must be from the Professor…he was the only one who could locate him so easily. He finished his drink and tossed a bill on the bar. “I’d better see what it is.” He headed out, bag over his shoulder. He headed to the little post office and ducked inside.

 

“Hey Maggie….Sean said you had a package for me?” He flashed her his best charming smile. 

 

“Sure do honey.” Maggie gave him a warm smile, she was in her 60’s and had tended to this place for years.

 

Logan said thank you when she handed the package over and he went outside, sitting on the bench outside as he opened the box. Inside was a letter, and a fancy looking cell phone. He opened the letter, smiling a bit at the pretty handwriting.

 

_Logan,_

_I hope you’re finding what you’re looking for. I asked Professor Xavier to help me get this to you. I have one too, so if you ever want to talk to me, my number’s programmed in. Thank you for my birthday present, I love the jacket and the gloves are fantastic. The leather is so thin, it’s the next best thing to not wearing any. The other set were great for keeping warm over the winter, and I really liked the feel of the fur against my skin._

_I know you hoped that with time everything I took from you would fade away, but I have to admit that I’m glad that it hasn’t. Everyone else is just background noise now, but you’re still there on the edges of my mind, whenever I need you. It’s kind of like having you here, though I’d much rather actually have you here. I understand why you need to stay away for now though, and it’s ok. I do kind of wish you’d been here to see my kick Mr. Summer’s ass in PE last week though. I’ve gotten better at channeling your fighting abilities and I caught him napping. He couldn’t have looked more surprised if Ms. Munroe had walked into the room naked._

_I’ve been working with the Professor every week, trying to get a handle on my skin. So far nothing we try seems to work and I think on some level he doesn’t believe I’ll ever be able to actually control it. I’m not ready to give up though, so I’ll keep trying. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life experiencing the world through a layer of silk or leather. The fact that I might have to scares me. Try not to worry about me though, I’m doing ok…just hard not to get a little blue sometimes. My friends try to understand but they don’t, not really anyways. I hope to hear from you soon, but I know you’ll keep in touch when you have the time._

_Be safe,_

_Yours,_

_Marie_

 

Logan smiled softly and tucked the letter into his shirt and put the phone in his bag. He chuckled a little at the thought of her knocking Scooter on his ass. Prick had probably deserved it. That last bit though, he could literally see the pain in her eyes as she wrote it. Maybe he’d need to head back sooner rather than later, even if it was just for a little while. He could control the Wolverine in the short term, and their girl needed them both. He stood and went to collect his bike and then find somewhere to spend the night. He’d head out in the morning.


	3. Coming Home

 

It was the end of June when Logan returned to the school. He’d nearly called her a few times, but closed the phone before hitting the call button. He wasn’t even sure what he’d say to her. Everything he wanted to say wasn’t even in the same universe as appropriate. She was 16 years old for Christ’s sake, and the fact that he wanted to bury his face in her hair and just breathe her in scared the shit out of him. He’d never thought about a young woman like that, but she was under his skin. An itch he didn’t dare scratch, but good Goddamn he wanted to.  

 

He turned off the motor and headed inside. It was late and fairly quiet, he figured that most of the kids would be in bed. He spotted Scott in the front hall and nodded, heading over to meet him.    


“Bring back my bike?” Scott asked.

 

“My bike’s in the garage…” He grinned. “Couldn’t tell you where yours is.”

 

He saw the muscle in Scott’s jaw working, but he didn’t rise to the bait. “What brings you back?”

 

“Just checking in. I wanted to see if the Professor had anything more for me.” Logan shrugged. “That and make sure Rogue’s doing all right,” he added, as if she was just an afterthought. He had a feeling it didn’t fool Scott though. “Know where she is?” While it was late, he doubted the teenager would be in bed.

 

“This time of night, she usually has the gym booked,” Scott said. “She goes down there for a couple hours when she’s sure no one else is using it.”

 

Logan nodded. “I’ll head down then,” he said, just walking past Scott and going to the elevators and taking it down to the rec level. It was where the training rooms were, just above the medical level. As he stepped out, he could hear music pulsing down the hall and her scent hit him like a hammer. He’d almost forgotten just how good she smelled, like vanilla and something darker that put him in mind of wood smoke.

 

He paused at the door of the gym, looking through the window to just watch her for a minute. She’d grown a bit taller than he remembered her. She was wearing a black tank top, very short shorts, and had her hands wrapped. Sweat was beading on her exposed skin, sliding down her spine and soaking into her rich chestnut hair. Here she wasn’t hiding and all the innocent sweetness of Marie was stripped away. This was the Rogue…a true predator. The Wolverine rumbled a bit, aching to test her and needing to see just how dangerous she was now. Marie was beating on the heavy bag, face intent as she worked it relentlessly. She’d trimmed down and he could see the beginnings of lean muscle in her arms and legs. Logan opened the door and set his pack down, picking up a set of hand pads.

 

“Hey Kid!” he called, and her head snapped around.  

 

“Logan!” She grinned brightly. “You’re back.” She stepped away from the bag, resisting the clear urge to run over and give him a hug.

 

“After your letter, I thought you could use me around for a little bit,” he said. “So, let’s see what you’ve got.” He smacked the pads together, grinning widely at her. “We’ll see if One-eye’s been able to teach you anything worth knowing.”

 

Marie came up on her toes, letting the piece of Wolverine that she had in her head move forward. A predatory glint entered her eyes and her movements became almost feline. She attacked fast and hard, knowing he could take it. She restricted her attacks to the pads, dodging and blocking when he returned blows. They kept going until she tired, her reactions slowing and she took a few ringing blows from the pads. One clipped her in the back of the head and she hit the mat, hard on her knees, sucking air.

 

She held up a hand. “I think I’m done,” she said.

 

“Not bad, kid.” He gave her a little well-earned praise, and set the pads aside while she got back up to her feet. “So…the geeks treatin’ you ok?” he asked as they went and sat down on the bench by the wall.

 

Marie nodded. “They’re not too bad, I guess. It’s just that sometimes I get a bit frustrated with them. I mean *you* are the one I nearly killed…twice, but the rest of them watch me like I’m some rabid creature about to kill them all at the drop of a hat.” She snorted. “You want to see the pool clear out in record time, you should see me head outside in a bath suit.”

 

He chuckled a bit, trying NOT to entertain that mental image. God, he had missed her sass.

 

“I know it’s not their fault, but there are days I want to just throw out all my gloves, scarves, and long sleeved shirts and just pretend to be normal for five minutes.” She shook her head. “If I did that everyone would probably run in fear or wet their damn pants.”

 

“That why you come down here at night, so you don’t have to hide under all those clothes?” he asked her, seeing how it was wearing on her.

 

“Yeah.” She took another long drink of her water. “Well sugar, I need a shower in the worst way…but I could maybe make something to eat, if you’re hungry. Meet me in the kitchen in about half an hour?” She offered, hoping he’d take her up on it.

 

“Sounds good, Kid. I gotta put my things upstairs anyway.” He stood. “See you in a bit, Marie,” he said. 

 

Logan quickly grabbed his pack and headed upstairs while she went to the locker room to grab a shower. Yeah, he needed a few floors between them if she was going to be stripping down any more than she had. The wolverine was riding close to the surface tonight.

 

Logan went up and found his room just the way he’d left it. He tossed his bag down and took off his jacket, throwing it over the chair. He went to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. The familiar sound of heels on the floor announced Jean’s arrival well before the knock on his doorframe. He could smell her, even in here. The perfume she always wore was applied heavy tonight, way too aggressive.

 

“Hey Red.” He smiled and dried his face off.

 

“Welcome home, Logan.” Jean smiled at him. “Scott said you were back. Did you find Rogue?” she asked, sauntering into his room like she owned it. Something about that rubbed him wrong tonight, and he really didn’t want to admit that it was because her scent was riding over the lingering bits of Marie.  

 

“Yeah, we had a bit of a spar. Seems your boyfriend’s not a complete waste of time as a teacher.” He grinned wolfishly, flicking his eyes over her.  

 

“Fiancé, actually,” she corrected him, holding up her hand with the ring. “Well…I just wanted to say welcome back, and I hope you’ll be sticking around for a bit,” Jean said.

 

“We’ll see, I wasn’t planning on staying too long.” He shrugged, he had an idea in his head but needed to talk to Marie about it first.

 

“All right. I guess I’ll see you at breakfast,” she said and headed off.

 

Logan grabbed a clean shirt and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Marie was already there, wearing a simple white, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of faded jeans. Her gloves were on the counter as she pulled some stuff from the fridge. He smiled and sat down.

 

“Feeling better?” he asked her, knowing he always did after a hard workout.

 

“Yeah, it always helps me come down and takes a bit of the edge off.” She turned the stove-top on and got some butter melting in the pan. “Pasta and chicken ok?” she asked him, at his nod she put some water on to boil. She chopped up a little bacon and threw it into the melting butter and then grabbed some leftover chicken breasts from dinner, slicing them up to toss with the bacon.

 

“You like cooking?” Logan asked, grabbing a soda and wishing it was beer.

 

“Yeah, it’s relaxing,” she said as things started cooking.

 

“I had an idea and wanted to know what you thought,” Logan said after a moment.

 

“Sure, what’s on your mind?” she asked, going over and grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

 

“How’d you like to go up North for the summer? Do a little hiking, some survival training, and clear your head a bit?” he offered, unable to believe how nervous he was that she’d say no.

 

Her whole face lit up. “Are you serious?” She all but flew into his arms, hugging him tightly.

 

“I take it that’s a yes?” He chuckled, relaxing a bit. He rubbed her back a little, taking a deep breath and drawing in her scent before letting her move back. “I just thought you could maybe use a break from this place. There are a few leads I want to follow up, but they’re overseas so I was thinking we could spend the summer together and then you can come back to school in the fall and I’ll head over to Japan and see if I can find anything else out,” he said.

 

“Japan? Logan if there’s a lead you need to follow up on, I don’t want to get in the way. I know how important your past is to you,” she said, her smile losing some of its brightness.  

 

“It ain’t going nowhere, things have waited this long…they’ll keep a few more months,” he reassured her. “Besides, you’re important too.” He met her eyes, holding them a long minute until she seemed to understand. She turned away a minute to add the chicken to the pan, adding some salt and pepper. “I figure I can ask them to drop us off in Edmonton, and I’ll pick up a truck there and we can head off.”

 

“That sounds great, Logan,” she said, turning back to him.

 

“All right then, well I’ll talk to the Professor in the morning and make plans from there.” Logan considered the matter settled.

 

Marie smiled again and turned back to dish them up some food. She sat the plates down at the island and sat down with him. “Did you find much?” she asked.

 

“No…just bits and pieces, nothing that really gave me any new information.” He shrugged. “I’d hoped for more.” He wasn’t afraid to admit that to her. “How have you been coping with the dreams?” he asked her, having been most worried about that.

 

“They’re not as frequent now. They just happen when I’ve had a particularly bad day,” she said. “I haven’t woken up the teaching staff in a while now, so that’s positive,” she said a bit wryly. “The Professor wanted me to learn to shut everything away, but it seemed like a waste to shove all that knowledge and experience away just because of a few bad dreams.”

 

“Well, that’s your business, Kid,” he said, not able to blame her for wanting to hold onto the piece of him in her head. He liked that in a way he was still protecting her, even when he was gone. She might not be invulnerable anymore, but her fighting ability was much better than a teenage girl’s should be and she was stronger than she looked. If it gave her an edge in a fight, so much the better. He knew that one day it could save her life.

 

“I don’t think he’s used to people telling him no, he actually seemed surprised that I’d push back on that.” Marie chuckled.

 

“It’s your life, Marie. People can offer their opinions, but you’re the one that’s gotta live it and live with it,” Logan said seriously. “Always do what’s right for you, not for anyone else.”

 

She held his eyes a long time and nodded. “I will.” She promised.

 

WRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWR

 

“I was wondering when you’d come and see me, Logan.” Professor Xavier smiled the door opened to his study, revealing the nomadic Mutant.

 

“Yeah, I got in pretty late last night and I wanted to catch up with Rogue,” he said and headed over to lean on the edge of the desk. “Most of the leads in Canada were long cold, but I did manage to track someone down who remember something about me being in Japan.” He shrugged. “I’ll run that down next.”

 

“And yet you haven’t asked me to fly you there.” Charles smiled. “What did you really want to talk about, Logan?” He could see something was weighing on his mind but tried not to pry unless he was asked to.

 

He let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I want to take Rogue north for the summer, give her a breather from the mansion. She needs to just focus on herself for a while, instead of worrying about how her skin might affect others if she’s not careful all the time,” Logan said.

 

“I think it might do you both a world of good.” He agreed with a small smile. “Rogue’s mutation hasn’t responded to the usual methods of training and part of it, I think, is that she always has a residual level of anxiety...even when she’s completely covered. I also think helping her might help you to recover some of your own memories. Staying in one place for a time and getting into a more normal routine might allow things to come back to you,” He said. “I can have Storm take you back up to Canada in a couple of days, give you both time to get some supplies together. I imagine you’ll need to pick up a vehicle there, after the tragic death of your truck last year.”

 

Logan nodded. “I’ll make sure she’s back in time for the start of classes in September, and I’ll keep that phone on me in case something happens and you need to reach out.” He let go of some of his tension, glad it hadn’t been a fight after all.

 

“We should be able to manage. Helping Rogue to come to peace with her mutation is important…and may be the gateway to her learning to control it. I wish I had been able to help her more.” He hated failure but he had to be honest, when it came to Rogue he had failed. There was something about her mutation that he simply couldn’t wrap his head around. He knew there had to be a way for her to gain the upper hand, but he just could not see it.

 

“You did your best,” He said. “You’ve given her a safe place to be and finishing school is important.” Logan felt uncomfortable trying to reassure the man who always seemed to have all the answers.

 

“And her place here will be waiting when she returns. You should go tell her and start making preparations. Feel free to use any of the school vehicles if you need to go into town for anything, and use this.” He took out a card from the desk. “While Rogue is a student here…her expenses are covered by the school.” He handed it to Logan.

 

Logan nodded. “All right then.” He tucked it in his pocket and headed out of the office, relieved that things had gone smoothly. A deep breath of air quickly helped him track Marie down, she was sitting in one of the media rooms, another girl on the couch with her. She smiled at him.

 

“Logan, this is Jubilee.” Marie introduced the outrageously dressed Asian girl.

 

“Hi there!” she said brightly.

 

“Hi….can I borrow you, kid?” he asked to Marie, nodding for her to join him in the hall. He saw that she was wearing a black turtleneck, gloves, and jeans…hiding as much as she could despite the temperature.

 

“Sure, what’s up Logan?” She asked, going into the hall.

 

“The Professor thought our idea was a good one, Storm’s going to fly us up to Canada in a couple days. You should get yourself packed, and we’ll pick up anything else you might need tomorrow.” He said, unable to help the smile that crossed his lips at her obvious excitement. She gave him an impulsive hug and he returned it.

 

“That’s fantastic! I better go pack!” She rushed off to tell Jubilee and then to go and get her things ready.

 

“What’s all the excitement about?” Jean chuckled, coming down the hall, heels clicking against the tile. The girl’s little crush was adorable.

 

“Just talked to the Professor, I’m takin’ Rogue up north for the summer.” He said. “We’ll do some survival training and give her a bit of a break from the mansion.” Logan saw her eyes widen a bit in surprise.

 

“But her work with the Professor on her mutation…” she protested.

 

“Ain’t going nowhere and he knows it,” Logan said simply. “We’ll be leaving in a couple days.”

 

“I see,” she said, unable to help her disappointment.

 

“Careful there Red, I’ll start thinkin’ you’ll miss me.” He winked at her and sauntered on past as Jean sputtered a little. She was fun to tease and he wanted to give her a little bit of a hard time. He heard her heels moving quickly down the hall and wondered if Chuck was ready to face the righteous indignation about to be dished out. He knew that little Miss straight and narrow would not approve of Marie going off to the middle of nowhere with him for the summer. Quite frankly though, he didn’t give two shits.

 

If not for all the craziness with Magneto, he’d probably have just kept looking after the girl. He’d thought about it, a lot if he was honest. Where they’d be now…how things might have gone. He knew it was a waste of time thinking about it, but when he was alone his mind liked to wander to it. He liked to think that he’d have taught her to survive, helped her learn control so that she could have those things that she craved so much. He remembered her words to him on the train that day. She wanted to be able to touch, to feel someone’s skin against hers. He couldn’t imagine living the way she had to, forever on guard against a casual brush in a crowd. It was cruel. If he did nothing else, he wanted to try and help her get those things that she needed.

 

WRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWRWR

 

“I can’t believe he’s allowing it! It’s indecent!” Jean was raging at Scott. She’d gone to the Professor to explain her concerns and he’d basically just patted her on the head and told her she was being ridiculous. “She’s 16 years old Scott!”

 

“Jean…” Scott stood and went over, stroking his hands down her arms. “Rogue is not your average 16 year old girl, and I think you’re jumping to conclusions. Just because she has a little bit of a school girl crush on him, doesn’t mean anything’s going to happen.” Scott took a breath and prepared to get slapped. “And even if it did…it’s not any of our business.”

 

“What the hell is wrong with you?! He’s probably old enough to be her grandfather…or even her great-grandfather! Are you seriously telling me that you wouldn’t have a problem with him sleeping with her?” Jean spun and shoved him.

 

“With her…no. With another 16 year old, of course,” Scott said. “There is a difference Jean and she is not like the other teenagers here. She has the combined life experience of Logan, Magneto and God knows how many others in her head. She lived on her own for the better part of a year before Logan picked her on the road and she hasn’t shared what happened during those months with anyone. She trusts Logan, more than anyone else. I can think of a lot worse men for her to have a crush on. I also don’t think anything will happen at all. He’s not that kind of a man.” Scott hated defending him, but he had to. “Logan has his own moral code, and he doesn’t break it. He does what’s right in his mind and clearly there’s a reason he thinks she needs to be away from here for a while. Probably a reason she doesn’t feel comfortable sharing with anyone but him.”

 

“But how can she learn to trust us if we let her run away just because she’s having some difficulties?” Jean said, some of the fire dampening down. “She’ll never learn to handle her problems on her own if we encourage her running to Logan for help all the time.”

 

“And how would forcing her to stay here make her want to trust us?” he countered. “She’s a free spirit Jean, she’s not Kitty or Jubilee. She was running long before she got her first taste of the Wolverine…and likely it only strengthened that instinct in her mind. Right now she needs to run, so the best thing to do is let her. The Professor’s a smart man, he would never let her go if he thought she’d come to any sort of harm.” He soothed her. He loved Jean but she lived in a very black and white world, she had a really hard time understanding shades of grey.

 

“She’s a child Scott, she has no idea what’s best for her,” she argued.

 

“And you’re not her mother,” Scott said, cutting her off. “It was her choice to stay here in the first place. We have no right to tell her what to do, and if you try she’ll only resent it. Leave it be Jean, please.” He took her hand and kissed it.

 

“Why is it so important to you that she be allowed to go?” Jean sighed, unable to maintain her outrage in the face of Scott’s logic.

 

“Have you ever honestly just watched her?” he asked and seeing her shake her head, he continued. “She’s terrified of hurting someone else, every minute of every single day. I know how that feels Jean, it’s paralyzing and exhausting. You remember how hard it was for me to let you close, because I was afraid of hurting you by accident.” He stroked her hands. “Logan doesn’t treat her like she’s dangerous, he treats her like everyone else. He’s the only person who reaches out and will put a hand on her shoulder, touch her hair, sit beside her. He has the most reason to be afraid of her, but he isn’t. That’s something she needs Jean. It’s easier to accept yourself when someone else does. I know it helped me.” He smiled softly.

 

“Oh Scott…” Jean reached out and stroked his face, feeling the pain just under the surface. It wasn’t often he talked about his own emotions around his eyes, but it put a lot into perspective about why he always seemed to cut Rogue a little more slack than any of the other students.

 

“The chances of her finding someone to be with, given her mutation, are so slim…and Logan’s not a bad man. Yeah, she’s really young, but she’s not some sweet naïve little girl Jean. She has a good piece of him in her head still, so she knows what’s in his head better than any of us do. It’s her choice to make, and I’m not going to second guess her.” He kissed Jean softly. “I love you…but sometimes you get a bit stuck in your views.”

 

“I’ll leave it be, for you,” she finally said, resting her forehead against his. “I love you too,” she whispered.


End file.
